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The Early Christian or Protobyzantine period
(4th-7th c.) begins with the founding of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 330 and the transfer there from Rome of the capital of the Roman Empire. This eastward shift of the Empire's centre of gravity, as also the adoption of Christianity as the official state religion, changed the face of the Empire, emphasising its religious dimension. It was a gradual change, and aspects of the previous period still permeated all sectors of life.
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Room 1: Early Christian Churches
The
support which Constantine the Great (324-37)
gave to Christianity and its recognition
by Theodosios the Great (379-95)
as the official state religion
strengthened the role of the Church. The
need naturally arose to create a
devotional space that was worthy of the
new situation. The principal type of Early
Christian church was the basilica, a
rectangular building divided lengthwise
into aisles by colonnades, with an apse at
the east end, and a roof of timber.
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The
exhibition makes its approach to the
architecture and decoration of Early
Christian churches through a selection of
sculpted architectural members, liturgical
vessels, mosaics, and wall paintings, most
of which come from churches in
Thessaloniki
. |
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Closure slab, 5th-6th cc. |
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Closure
slabs occupied the spaces between the
columns, thus separating the nave from the
aisles. Together with piers, they also
formed a chancel barrier, the templon,
which separated the sanctuary from the rest
of the church. In this period the barrier
was low and in no way resembled the high
Postbyzantine iconostasis. |
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Mosaic, 6th c. Detail of the mosaic floor of a church in Thessaloniki |
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The
decoration of churches was determined to a
great extent by the social and economic
conditions in the various areas. So it was
richer and more elaborate in the large urban
centres, and poorer and simpler in the
outlying areas. In the provinces, churches
were usually floored with mosaic and the
walls were decorated with frescoes; while
the more luxurious churches tended to have
marble floors and mosaics and marble
revetments on the walls. |
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Page of a gospel from a purple codex, 6th c. |
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The
codex was first unbinded possibly at the
time of the Crusades. The larger part
remained in Samursakli in Cappadocia until
1896, when it was purchased by Tsar Nicholas II
and ended up in
St Petersburg
. One folio, however, was kept behind in
Samursakli as a memento and brought to
Greece
in 1922 by a family of refugees, from whom
the Archaeological Service purchased it in
1966.
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Silver reliquary from Nea Iraklia in Halkidiki, late 4th c. |
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Reliquaries
were made of precious materials (gold,
silver, ivory) and contained relics of
martyrs and saints or objects which had been
sanctified by contact with relics, such as
blood-soaked earth from a saint's tomb. They
were placed on the altar or underneath it
when the church was consecrated. |
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